English poetry notes

AislingE

Hi guys, just wondering would anyone have notes on 'Midterm Break' and 'Digging' both by Seamus Heaney! Would greatly appreciate it !

DublinArnie

Mid-term break

Poetic Style:
"I sat all morning in the college sick day, counting bells knelling classes to an end, at 2 o'clock our neighbours drove me home." -Engaging opening sentence, creates questions, good poetry

Figurative Style:
"A four foot box, a foot for very year." - Metaphor, the small size of the box shows how tragic the death was to the family.

"Snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside, I have seen him for the first time in six weeks. Paler now." - Sibilance, the repition of the sound 's' is repeated. Creates rhythem and an atmosphere of tension.

"He layed in the box as in his cot." - Simile, he compares how he layed in the coffin as he was laying in his cot.

"In his stide ... it was a hard blow." - He meet his father, his father is a tough man, but even he is weakened by the death.

"Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest away at school, as my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs" - Again, shows how tragic the event is.

Universal themes:
-Family
-Death
-Childhood
-Love

There's some more things I could add. If you want, i'd type out a sample answer .
=

cfc.forever

@DublinArnie don't need to be rude man but isn't the Metaphor "A four foot box, a foot for every year" meaning the child was four years old rather than the small size of the box shows how tragic the death was to the family. :P

DublinArnie

cfc.forever wrote: »

@DublinArnie don't need to be rude man but isn't the Metaphor "A four foot box, a foot for every year" meaning the child was four years old rather than the small size of the box shows how tragic the death was to the family. :P

Polite way to approach me haha. My english teacher said the small size of the box showed how tragic it was, funerials of children are usally more "sad" and "terrible" as they didn't live their life to the fullest (adulthood). Children usally have smaller coffins than adults .. so the small box portrayed how tragic it was because the child was so young.

Pwee2029

DublinArnie wrote: »

Figurative Style:
"A four foot box, a foot for very year." - Metaphor, the small size of the box shows how tragic the death was to the family.

The small size of the box tells us he lived a short life, just an addition

edit// well you get the point..

MmmPancakes

Pwee2029 wrote: »

The small size of the box tells us he lived a short life, just an addition

edit// well you get the point..

It also symbolises the wastefulness of the child's life, he lived four years just to accomplish fitting in a four foot coffin. Rather grim :P

Jack_OLantern

Guys, can you tell me the structure and length an answer should be for Studied Poetry? Are there specific headings we have to mention, like style, theme? Also, for unseen poetry as well. Thanks.

AislingE

DublinArnie wrote: »

Mid-term break

Poetic Style:
"I sat all morning in the college sick day, counting bells knelling classes to an end, at 2 o'clock our neighbours drove me home." -Engaging opening sentence, creates questions, good poetry

Figurative Style:
"A four foot box, a foot for very year." - Metaphor, the small size of the box shows how tragic the death was to the family.

"Snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside, I have seen him for the first time in six weeks. Paler now." - Sibilance, the repition of the sound 's' is repeated. Creates rhythem and an atmosphere of tension.

"He layed in the box as in his cot." - Simile, he compares how he layed in the coffin as he was laying in his cot.

"In his stide ... it was a hard blow." - He meet his father, his father is a tough man, but even he is weakened by the death.

"Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest away at school, as my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs" - Again, shows how tragic the event is.

Universal themes:
-Family
-Death
-Childhood
-Love

There's some more things I could add. If you want, i'd type out a sample answer .
=

Thanks erm if you wouldnt mind i guess ! Thank you:)

DublinArnie

Q:Is this a good poem? (30) 28minutes 5 marks = 1 parapragh

(Opening Paragraph)
I have studied a number of poems in preparation of this exam. I have chosen my favourite poem, "Mid-Term Break" for my answer. This evocative poem is written by Derry poet, Sheamus Heaney whom won a noble prize for his great works. I like this poem because it tells the story of his childhood, and it's easy to empathise with him. This is because the poem contains universal themes such as death, love, family and childhood. However, I also really enjoyed this poem because of Heaney's mastery over language. Similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia and sibilance are plotted throughout this amazing poem. This creates immense rhythem. I believe this is a good poem because it contains something that all good poems must contain to be good.

(Body Paragraph 2)
This poem is thought provolking. The first stanza is very interesting as it creates questions. I found "I sat all morning at the college sick bay, counting bells knelling classes to an end, at 2 o'clock our neighbours drove me home." very engaging. It creates a sense of mystery and the reader will want to read on. Readers are curious people so they will read on in order to fullfill questions made in the first stanza. This clearly shows great writing and therefore a good poem.

(Body Paragraph 3)
Metaphors are challenging(another word for 'interesting'). I really love metaphors as they create vivid and photographic images in my head. All good poems contain metaphors of some sort. This poem has a few metaphors, but my favourite metaphor is "A four foot box, a foot for every year.". This is because it highlights how tragic the death of the young boy was. A small coffin is the sign of a death of a young child, and deaths of children are terrible. I found this moving as I could also empathise to this universal theme of death. Another reason why this poem is amaizng.

(Body Paragraph 3)
However, there are more reasons why I like this poem. I've spotted several similes throughout this cinematic piece of writing. Similes are comparsions between two things, they create immense vibrant images. This makes a poem wonderful and enjoyable to the reader. Again, this poem is riddled with similes. My favourite simile is "He layed in the box as in his cot.". This is because it compares the way the boy is laying in the coffin like he was in his cot. When I read that line, I see a picture of a boy all relaxed and calm laying on a coffin, dead. Heaney makes this a good poem!

(Body Paragraph 4)
Universal theme of family is evident in this intriuging poem. Everyone can empathise with this theme because everyone has a family. Heaney clearly highlights this theme when the poem says "Whispers informed strangers I was the elder away at school, as my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.". His mother is devestated by the death. All mothers would be devestated if one of their own died, especially at a young age. We can all empathise with this in some form. I found this very moving.

(Body Paragraph 5)
Figurative writing styles make a good poem. This is poem is full of it, thanks to Heaney's mastery over the English language. He added a sentence which contaiend sibilance. This created great rhythem. The repetition of the inital sound of the letter 's' is overwhelming. My favourite sibilance in this poem is "Snow drops and candles soothed the bedside. I have seen him for the first time in six weeks. Paler now.". The letter 's' can be heard at the start multiple times, creating rhythem. I found this very intersting. Therefore this poem is a great poem because of all these styles added into it.

(I'm 22 minutes now, I have a few more minutes left, so I will add an extra paragraph)

(Conclusion)
Thus, I believe this is a good poem. Heaney uses various styles of figurative writing to create a number of imagery. He also helps the reader to empathise with him throughout the poem by using universal themes such as love and death. This is all in result of a good poem. Therefore this is a great poem and it left me in awe.

***Hope this helps, I didn't bother re-reading so there might be small mistakes. That's my study done for the day . I haven't even touched this poem in weeks, so this is from the top of my head ***

***The brackets are not going to be written on the exam obviously!***

Jack_OLantern

DublinArnie wrote: »

Q:Is this a good poem? (30) 28minutes 5 marks = 1 parapragh

(Opening Paragraph)
I have studied a number of poems in preparation of this exam. I have chosen my favourite poem, "Mid-Term Break" for my answer. This evocative poem is written by Derry poet, Sheamus Heaney whom won a noble prize for his great works. I like this poem because it tells the story of his childhood, and it's easy to empathise with him. This is because the poem contains universal themes such as death, love, family and childhood. However, I also really enjoyed this poem because of Heaney's mastery over language. Similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia and sibilance are plotted throughout this amazing poem. This creates immense rhythem. I believe this is a good poem because it contains something that all good poems must contain to be good.

(Body Paragraph 2)
This poem is thought provolking. The first stanza is very interesting as it creates questions. I found "I sat all morning at the college sick bay, counting bells knelling classes to an end, at 2 o'clock our neighbours drove me home." very engaging. It creates a sense of mystery and the reader will want to read on. Readers are curious people so they will read on in order to fullfill questions made in the first stanza. This clearly shows great writing and therefore a good poem.

(Body Paragraph 3)
Metaphors are challenging(another word for 'interesting'). I really love metaphors as they create vivid and photographic images in my head. All good poems contain metaphors of some sort. This poem has a few metaphors, but my favourite metaphor is "A four foot box, a foot for every year.". This is because it highlights how tragic the death of the young boy was. A small coffin is the sign of a death of a young child, and deaths of children are terrible. I found this moving as I could also empathise to this universal theme of death. Another reason why this poem is amaizng.

(Body Paragraph 3)
However, there are more reasons why I like this poem. I've spotted several similes throughout this cinematic piece of writing. Similes are comparsions between two things, they create immense vibrant images. This makes a poem wonderful and enjoyable to the reader. Again, this poem is riddled with similes. My favourite simile is "He layed in the box as in his cot.". This is because it compares the way the boy is laying in the coffin like he was in his cot. When I read that line, I see a picture of a boy all relaxed and calm laying on a coffin, dead. Heaney makes this a good poem!

(Body Paragraph 4)
Universal theme of family is evident in this intriuging poem. Everyone can empathise with this theme because everyone has a family. Heaney clearly highlights this theme when the poem says "Whispers informed strangers I was the elder away at school, as my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.". His mother is devestated by the death. All mothers would be devestated if one of their own died, especially at a young age. We can all empathise with this in some form. I found this very moving.

(Body Paragraph 5)
Figurative writing styles make a good poem. This is poem is full of it, thanks to Heaney's mastery over the English language. He added a sentence which contaiend sibilance. This created great rhythem. The repetition of the inital sound of the letter 's' is overwhelming. My favourite sibilance in this poem is "Snow drops and candles soothed the bedside. I have seen him for the first time in six weeks. Paler now.". The letter 's' can be heard at the start multiple times, creating rhythem. I found this very intersting. Therefore this poem is a great poem because of all these styles added into it.

(I'm 22 minutes now, I have a few more minutes left, so I will add an extra paragraph)

(Conclusion)
Thus, I believe this is a good poem. Heaney uses various styles of figurative writing to create a number of imagery. He also helps the reader to empathise with him throughout the poem by using universal themes such as love and death. This is all in result of a good poem. Therefore this is a great poem and it left me in awe.

***Hope this helps, I didn't bother re-reading so there might be small mistakes. That's my study done for the day . I haven't even touched this poem in weeks, so this is from the top of my head ***

***The brackets are not going to be written on the exam obviously!***

So in writing, how long would that be? And how long would you spend on that question? Also, do you know any useful words and phrases to use, like imagery, alliteration etc.? I see a good few in your answer, it's really good

MmmPancakes

Jack_OLantern wrote: »

Guys, can you tell me the structure and length an answer should be for Studied Poetry? Are there specific headings we have to mention, like style, theme? Also, for unseen poetry as well. Thanks.

For 15 marks, at least 3/4 of a page. 30 Marks is at least 1.5 pages, 10 marks is a paragraph. 5 is a few sentences.
45 minutes on each section in Paper 2 I think

AislingE

DublinArnie wrote: »

Q:Is this a good poem? (30) 28minutes 5 marks = 1 parapragh

(Opening Paragraph)
I have studied a number of poems in preparation of this exam. I have chosen my favourite poem, "Mid-Term Break" for my answer. This evocative poem is written by Derry poet, Sheamus Heaney whom won a noble prize for his great works. I like this poem because it tells the story of his childhood, and it's easy to empathise with him. This is because the poem contains universal themes such as death, love, family and childhood. However, I also really enjoyed this poem because of Heaney's mastery over language. Similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia and sibilance are plotted throughout this amazing poem. This creates immense rhythem. I believe this is a good poem because it contains something that all good poems must contain to be good.

(Body Paragraph 2)
This poem is thought provolking. The first stanza is very interesting as it creates questions. I found "I sat all morning at the college sick bay, counting bells knelling classes to an end, at 2 o'clock our neighbours drove me home." very engaging. It creates a sense of mystery and the reader will want to read on. Readers are curious people so they will read on in order to fullfill questions made in the first stanza. This clearly shows great writing and therefore a good poem.

(Body Paragraph 3)
Metaphors are challenging(another word for 'interesting'). I really love metaphors as they create vivid and photographic images in my head. All good poems contain metaphors of some sort. This poem has a few metaphors, but my favourite metaphor is "A four foot box, a foot for every year.". This is because it highlights how tragic the death of the young boy was. A small coffin is the sign of a death of a young child, and deaths of children are terrible. I found this moving as I could also empathise to this universal theme of death. Another reason why this poem is amaizng.

(Body Paragraph 3)
However, there are more reasons why I like this poem. I've spotted several similes throughout this cinematic piece of writing. Similes are comparsions between two things, they create immense vibrant images. This makes a poem wonderful and enjoyable to the reader. Again, this poem is riddled with similes. My favourite simile is "He layed in the box as in his cot.". This is because it compares the way the boy is laying in the coffin like he was in his cot. When I read that line, I see a picture of a boy all relaxed and calm laying on a coffin, dead. Heaney makes this a good poem!

(Body Paragraph 4)
Universal theme of family is evident in this intriuging poem. Everyone can empathise with this theme because everyone has a family. Heaney clearly highlights this theme when the poem says "Whispers informed strangers I was the elder away at school, as my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.". His mother is devestated by the death. All mothers would be devestated if one of their own died, especially at a young age. We can all empathise with this in some form. I found this very moving.

(Body Paragraph 5)
Figurative writing styles make a good poem. This is poem is full of it, thanks to Heaney's mastery over the English language. He added a sentence which contaiend sibilance. This created great rhythem. The repetition of the inital sound of the letter 's' is overwhelming. My favourite sibilance in this poem is "Snow drops and candles soothed the bedside. I have seen him for the first time in six weeks. Paler now.". The letter 's' can be heard at the start multiple times, creating rhythem. I found this very intersting. Therefore this poem is a great poem because of all these styles added into it.

(I'm 22 minutes now, I have a few more minutes left, so I will add an extra paragraph)

(Conclusion)
Thus, I believe this is a good poem. Heaney uses various styles of figurative writing to create a number of imagery. He also helps the reader to empathise with him throughout the poem by using universal themes such as love and death. This is all in result of a good poem. Therefore this is a great poem and it left me in awe.

***Hope this helps, I didn't bother re-reading so there might be small mistakes. That's my study done for the day . I haven't even touched this poem in weeks, so this is from the top of my head ***

***The brackets are not going to be written on the exam obviously!***

Woah! Are you sure your not an english teacher like ! Hah! Thanks so much

Jack_OLantern

MmmPancakes wrote: »

For 15 marks, at least 3/4 of a page. 30 Marks is at least 1.5 pages, 10 marks is a paragraph. 5 is a few sentences.
45 minutes on each section in Paper 2 I think

Cheers mate!

DublinArnie

AislingE wrote: »

Woah! Are you sure your not an english teacher like ! Hah! Thanks so much

English is one of my favourite subjects . Your welcome .

MmmPancakes

DublinArnie wrote: »

Q:Is this a good poem? (30) 28minutes 5 marks = 1 parapragh

(Opening Paragraph)
I have studied a number of poems in preparation of this exam. I have chosen my favourite poem, "Mid-Term Break" for my answer. This evocative poem is written by Derry poet, Sheamus Heaney whom won a noble prize for his great works. I like this poem because it tells the story of his childhood, and it's easy to empathise with him. This is because the poem contains universal themes such as death, love, family and childhood. However, I also really enjoyed this poem because of Heaney's mastery over language. Similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia and sibilance are plotted throughout this amazing poem. This creates immense rhythem. I believe this is a good poem because it contains something that all good poems must contain to be good.

(Body Paragraph 2)
This poem is thought provolking. The first stanza is very interesting as it creates questions. I found "I sat all morning at the college sick bay, counting bells knelling classes to an end, at 2 o'clock our neighbours drove me home." very engaging. It creates a sense of mystery and the reader will want to read on. Readers are curious people so they will read on in order to fullfill questions made in the first stanza. This clearly shows great writing and therefore a good poem.

(Body Paragraph 3)
Metaphors are challenging(another word for 'interesting'). I really love metaphors as they create vivid and photographic images in my head. All good poems contain metaphors of some sort. This poem has a few metaphors, but my favourite metaphor is "A four foot box, a foot for every year.". This is because it highlights how tragic the death of the young boy was. A small coffin is the sign of a death of a young child, and deaths of children are terrible. I found this moving as I could also empathise to this universal theme of death. Another reason why this poem is amaizng.

(Body Paragraph 3)
However, there are more reasons why I like this poem. I've spotted several similes throughout this cinematic piece of writing. Similes are comparsions between two things, they create immense vibrant images. This makes a poem wonderful and enjoyable to the reader. Again, this poem is riddled with similes. My favourite simile is "He layed in the box as in his cot.". This is because it compares the way the boy is laying in the coffin like he was in his cot. When I read that line, I see a picture of a boy all relaxed and calm laying on a coffin, dead. Heaney makes this a good poem!

(Body Paragraph 4)
Universal theme of family is evident in this intriuging poem. Everyone can empathise with this theme because everyone has a family. Heaney clearly highlights this theme when the poem says "Whispers informed strangers I was the elder away at school, as my mother held my hand in hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.". His mother is devestated by the death. All mothers would be devestated if one of their own died, especially at a young age. We can all empathise with this in some form. I found this very moving.

(Body Paragraph 5)
Figurative writing styles make a good poem. This is poem is full of it, thanks to Heaney's mastery over the English language. He added a sentence which contaiend sibilance. This created great rhythem. The repetition of the inital sound of the letter 's' is overwhelming. My favourite sibilance in this poem is "Snow drops and candles soothed the bedside. I have seen him for the first time in six weeks. Paler now.". The letter 's' can be heard at the start multiple times, creating rhythem. I found this very intersting. Therefore this poem is a great poem because of all these styles added into it.

(I'm 22 minutes now, I have a few more minutes left, so I will add an extra paragraph)

(Conclusion)
Thus, I believe this is a good poem. Heaney uses various styles of figurative writing to create a number of imagery. He also helps the reader to empathise with him throughout the poem by using universal themes such as love and death. This is all in result of a good poem. Therefore this is a great poem and it left me in awe.

***Hope this helps, I didn't bother re-reading so there might be small mistakes. That's my study done for the day . I haven't even touched this poem in weeks, so this is from the top of my head ***

***The brackets are not going to be written on the exam obviously!***

<3333333333333333333 I'm so learning dis, luv u m8

DublinArnie

MmmPancakes wrote: »

<3333333333333333333 I'm so learning dis, luv u m8

Lol! I should probably edit it .. I don't want 10 people having the same answers as me on the Junior .

Jack_OLantern

DublinArnie wrote: »

Lol! I should probably edit it .. I don't want 10 people having the same answers as me on the Junior .

How long is that in writing, just out of interest? It's very good BTW.

DublinArnie

Jack_OLantern wrote: »

How long is that in writing, just out of interest? It's very good BTW.

I would say 1 1/2 - 2 A4 pages .

Jack_OLantern

DublinArnie wrote: »

I would say 1 1/2 - 2 A4 pages .

It's very good. What poems are you doing? I'm doing Does it Matter?
The Road not Taken
Dulce Et Decorum Est
and The Early Purges
If I have time, I'll do Mid- term break as well.

DublinArnie

Jack_OLantern wrote: »

It's very good. What poems are you doing? I'm doing Does it Matter?
The Road not Taken
Dulce Et Decorum Est
and The Early Purges
If I have time, I'll do Mid- term break as well.

I'm doing Mid-term break and Dulce Et Decorum Est :rolleyes:.

Jack_OLantern

DublinArnie wrote: »

I'm doing Mid-term break and Dulce Et Decorum Est :rolleyes:.

Yeah, I'm probbly doing too many, ah well. Sitting here staring out of the window, wishing I didn't have to study isn't going to help either! WHY DOES THE WEATHER HAVE TO BE THIS GOOD???

DublinArnie

Jack_OLantern wrote: »

Yeah, I'm probbly doing too many, ah well. Sitting here staring out of the window, wishing I didn't have to study isn't going to help either! WHY DOES THE WEATHER HAVE TO BE THIS GOOD???

:pac::pac::pac:I'm studying XD. I'm trying to memorise like a 200 word Irish sample answer for "An bhFaca einne agaigh Roy Keane". I'm actually going to do a hell a lot of study today . Go out and play .. no one is holding you back .

Jack_OLantern

DublinArnie wrote: »

:pac::pac::pac:I'm studying XD. I'm trying to memorise like a 200 word Irish sample answer for "An bhFaca einne agaigh Roy Keane". I'm actually going to do a hell a lot of study today . Go out and play .. no one is holding you back .

But then I won't get an A in English! I don't mind that much but it's a bit annoying! Don't tire yourself out! It happens!

DublinArnie

Jack_OLantern wrote: »

But then I won't get an A in English! I don't mind that much but it's a bit annoying! Don't tire yourself out! It happens!

Eah, I never get tired. YOU MUST GET AN A IN ENGLISH!

Jack_OLantern

DublinArnie wrote: »

Eah, I never get tired. YOU MUST GET AN A IN ENGLISH!

I love English, but I get really bored when it comes to Of Mice and Men. Hated the book. Would've really preffered To Kill a Mockingbird.